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What Are High-Pitched Breath Sounds?

When
you breathe in and out, the exchange of air in your lungs produces turbulence called
breath sounds. If you listen to your chest with a stethoscope, normal lung
sounds should be louder when you breathe in and softer when you breathe out.

Changes
in lung sounds can indicate many things. When they’re high-pitched, this can be
cause for concern. This is because high-pitched wheezes often mean the airways
are smaller in size than normal and air isn’t moving through as well as it once
did. High-pitched breath sounds can indicate a medical emergency.

What Are the Symptoms of High-Pitched Breath
Sounds?

High-pitched breath sounds are often classified as
“wheezing.” The sounds made are often described as having a musical or squeaky
quality to them. They may sound like a person is whistling when breathing. While
high-pitched wheezing sounds most often occur when a person is breathing out,
they can also sometimes occur when a person breathes in.

Wheezing often indicates that someone’s airways have
become narrowed. This can make breathing significantly more difficult and result
in short, choppy breaths. They may appear as if they are working hard to
breathe, and they may be red in the face and clutching their chest or throat.

Another high-pitched breath sound is called stridor.
This occurs when a person has an obstruction in their upper airway or in the
neck. Stridor has a sharper, more piercing sound than wheezing does.

What Causes High-Pitched Breath Sounds?

High-pitched breath sounds that are wheezes can
occur because of chronic diseases. According to the Mayo Clinic, the most common cause of recurring,
wheezing high-pitched breath sounds is asthma. Additional causes include:

allergies

anaphylaxis/anaphylactic
shock

bronchiectasis

bronchiolitis

bronchitis

burns due to smoke
inhalation

chronic obstructive
pulmonary disorder (COPD)

epiglottitis

gastroesophageal reflux
disease

heart failure

lung cancer

obstructive sleep apnea

pneumonia

respiratory syncytial virus
infection

respiratory tract infection

smoking

vocal cord dysfunction

If a person’s high-pitched breath sounds are
classified as stridor, causes may include:

croup

foreign body obstruction

large airway tumor

When Should I Seek Medical Help for High-Pitched
Breath Sounds?

Stridor typically indicates a medical emergency because the
airway is often obstructed. Seek immediate medical attention if you experience
the following symptoms along with high-pitched breath sounds:

chest pain

choking

coughing up blood

dizziness

gasping for breath

loss of
consciousness/passing out

nasal flaring (where the
nostrils move in and out when breathing)

pale skin

skin that appears blue in
color

sweating excessively

symptoms that begin after
you take a new medication, eat a food you could be allergic to, or are stung by
a bee

If your high-pitched breath sounds are not interfering with your
ability to breathe, you can wait and make an appointment to see your doctor. However,
these sounds shouldn’t be ignored as they can be an indicator of asthma or
COPD.

How Are High-Pitched Breath Sounds Diagnosed?

When you seek treatment for high-pitched breath
sounds, your doctor will often measure your pulse oximetry. They’ll put a
small, clip-like device on your finger. This measures how much oxygen is in
your blood. If your oxygen reading is less than 90 percent, this means you are
severely deprived of oxygen.

In addition to looking at your physical symptoms,
such as work of breathing (how much effort it is for you to breathe), your
doctor will also listen to your breath sounds with a stethoscope. Additional
tests may include:

arterial blood gas analysis,
which measures the amount of oxygen in your blood and its pH

lung function tests, such as
spirometry

X-ray imaging to view your
lungs and airways to determine if there are any blockages, tumors, or fluid
build-up in the lungs

Your doctor may recommend other tests based on the
underlying condition they think you may have.

How Are High-Pitched Breath Sounds Treated?

Treatment for high-pitched breath sounds depends
upon their underlying cause. If your airway is in danger of closing up, your
doctor may insert a breathing tube down your throat. This tube is connected to
an artificial breathing machine known as a ventilator.

In some instances, inhaled medications can help to
open up the airways, making it easier to breathe. Your doctor may prescribe
antibiotics to treat the infection if an infection is causing the high-pitched
breathing sounds.

At-home methods you can utilize to treat
high-pitched breath sounds that aren’t an emergency include:

Avoid cold, dry air and cigarette smoking. Both of
these can make it harder for you to breathe.

Drink plenty of warmed fluids, such as hot water or
tea.

Keep the air moist. Moist air can help to open up
the lungs and make breathing easier. Taking a shower or sitting in the restroom
while the shower is running with the door closed can help to moisten the air.
You can also use a humidifier, which releases warm, moist air. However, clean
your humidifier regularly as the device is prone to building up with fungus.